Here’s what to look for from Brandon Miller, other Hornets’ notables at NBA summer league

It’s Marlon Garnett’s turn.

Garnett, a key assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets the past two years, has been tapped to serve as the team’s head coach during summer league play in Sacramento and Las Vegas. He’ll be tasked with trying to collectively juggle the new arrivals like recent first-round picks Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr. with other notables such as Bryce McGowens.

And he can’t wait to dive into it when the first practice officially tips off Friday morning.

“Just the fact that this organization — obviously our general manager Mitch (Kupchak) and (assistant GM) Buzz (Peterson) and and the group up there as well as coach (Steve Clifford) — them entrusting me to be able to lead these guys,” Garnett said, “and continue to progress our program here as we kind of try to pursue a little more success in Charlotte these next three weeks is definitely an honor. I’m definitely humbled by the responsibility and I’m excited for it.”

Garnett steps into the spot occupied the last two years by Jordan Surenkamp, coach of the Hornets’ G League affiliate in Greensboro, and it will mark his second stint at the end of the bench in the summer league. He was the Phoenix Suns’ summer head coach in 2017.

The Hornets’ summer league roster won’t be set until later this week and that won’t give Garnett much time to get things completely organized before their initial outing. For the first time, Charlotte is participating in the Sacramento Kings’ tournament prior to heading to the desert. And their two-game slate includes a potential matchup with San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in last week’s draft, at the Golden 1 Center on Monday.

“Yeah, going to Sacramento is good,” said Garnett, a player development specialist who works closely with Hornets star point guard LaMelo Ball. “It’s just an opportunity for, again, a couple of more reps. ... So, as we tune up in those games to go to Vegas, we’ll get two cracks at it to get on the floor for those guys to jell and try to build some chemistry.”

Garnett spoke to the Observer about what to anticipate from Miller, the importance of the next few weeks for some of the team’s younger players who need the development, helping the guys get a jump on being ready mentally for training camp in September and more.

Roderick Boone: What is the main goal you are trying to accomplish during summer league?

Marlon Garnett: It’s the progress and whether that’s progress of getting the new guys acclimated, getting their feet wet — this will be their first experience as NBA players — or the other guys who have been with us for a couple of years and may not have the same amount of reps that they probably would have wanted. So, this is a chance for them, to allow them to continue the stuff they’ve been working on, and gain their confidence and continue to gain reps.

And then for other guys that are coming in, it allows them exposure to be seen, whether that’s by us or by other teams. That’s kind of part of it. I remember when I played back in summer league. You’ve got all 30 teams represented, so it’s all eyes on you to be able to go out there and perform and potentially make a life-changing opportunity.

RB: What do you hope to see from Brandon during summer league action?

MG: I’ve only had a couple of minutes to spend with him the day after he was drafted because I wanted to get a chance to see all the guys in the room, talk to them individually, and kind of see what we have and kind of see where we can help his game, and how those little nuggets can help us as a group, as a whole. So, I’m excited.

I’m excited for Nick, I’m excited for Amari (Bailey). I’m excited for big James (Nnaji), guys that we picked up in this draft and some of the other guys that are coming in. ... So, it will be a good opportunity to evaluate and look at these guys from a big picture standpoint and see what we are working with as we move into training camp next season.

RB: You had a chance to be among the people watching Miller work out during the pre-draft process. What impressed you most in those sessions?

MG: It’s all the narratives that we know. Obviously, you love the shooting piece, you love the skill at his size. But the one thing that probably hasn’t been talked about — and this is a credit to his coaching staff at Alabama — is his ability to play defense and guard at his size with long arms. So, we are obviously excited about those things.

I was just appreciative that he was willing to come back for a second time so we could get another look at him and make sure we were drafting the right player at this time for us. And, again, appreciation to Scoot (Henderson) for coming back as well. All the best to him as he starts his career in Portland. We like the picks that we have and we are excited to see them live.

RB: How can these games benefit somebody like Nick Smith Jr. as he tries to see where he fits in?

MG: Yeah, this is the perfect time. He’s going to have a chance to play a good amount. We didn’t take him in the first round because we didn’t think he could play. Obviously, we see something in him. So, he’ll have the stage and the platform to see what he can do and we’ll be able to see what we are working with. And that’s part of this whole deal with all 30 teams. They are evaluating guys and seeing what they can use as we start to get into the regular season.

RB: Although the summer league roster isn’t technically set yet, you’ve mentioned how you’re looking forward to coaching some of the guys who are already on the main roster but could use the extra time. How important are these summer minutes for them?

MG: It’s very important. You’ve got guys who maybe didn’t play as much as they want to and if they are given an opportunity to play in summer league … What’s the great quote from Gregg Popovich? ‘Make me an idiot by not playing you because you play so well out there.’ So, this is a stage and platform for them to go out and show why they are NBA players and why we should probably try to play them or think about playing them in the regular season.

RB: How does this nearly month of work specifically prepare the returning players for the fall and beyond?

MG: This is an opportunity to steal a couple of reps of opportunities to give guys things they are going to see when we get into training camp and the regular season. That’s my job to be as organized as we can and introduce some of the concepts — whether it’s offensively or defensively — that gets them a step ahead so they are not like a deer in headlights when we come back in September in training camp.

So, I’m excited for the opportunity to help them along the way, as well as the rest of the coaching staff that we have going over there to Sacramento and Vegas.